Apparatus for making containers



Feb. 5, 1935. G. E. WEST 1,990,260

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONTAINERS Filed June 8, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 1 I :in

Feb. 5, 1935. Q E WEST APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONTAINERS Filed June 8, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VII/ll w M T. E v1 N 6 l@ E Q v tainer, therefore, is bestfmade on the innersurv Patented Feb. 5, 1935 APPARATUS Fon MAKING CONTAINns George E. West, lWashington, D. C.

Application June 8, 1932,` Serial' No. 616,070

e claims.

This invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for making containers and has for its 'object the production of Ntransparent, flexible, light weight, non-shatterablecontainers inthe form of bottles, jars; tumblers,'cups 'and other` utensils or articles.

VAnother object includes theproduction of containers from a liquid solution of a cellulose compound by applying the-"cellulose compound solution or ythe container forming material in repeated thin layers Within a former or hollow mold and hardening the cellulose compound. That is to say the container is built up or formed onthe inner Walls of the hollow mold by repeated coatings of the cellulose `compound solution being applied to said mold and on the inner walls of the container as the same is built up to any desired thickness. The hardening of the cellulose compound solution-is felected by removing the volatile solvent. -This may be done by maintaining a partial vacuum in the mold and on the container thus formed;r It'` is, therefore, apparent that the solution is'v applied under suitable vacuumization to not only hasten the hardening of the cellulose compound but to also prevent the formation of bubbles in the container.

A further object includes the production of milk' bottles and other containers from cellulose acetate or other cellulose compounds inA an eflicient and inexpensive manner. I

Ihave discovered that cellulos'ematerial such as cellulose acetate when dissolved in'a suitable solvent can be formed into bottles, tumblers and other forms of containers by -flowinga liquid solution thereof over the surface of a former or mold and hardening the cellulose materialasthe vsame is spread over the surface. While either the inner or outer-.surface of the former or the mold is available I find thaty the inner surface of the hollow former or hollow 'mold is practical. is because of the nature'ofej the solution an'd of the finished product. In other words, l' the cellulose material shrinks when it lhardens and the vconface of the mold or former from which it shrinks due to hardening when finished. -`Thentto, the volatile solvent which formsv a part of the solution can be best controlled and eliminated from the inside ofthe hollow mold orformer by main taining therein a suitable degree of vacuumization and temperature.' -Asa specific instance without limiting vmyself thereto; 1y find approximately normal or room ytemperaturejto 'be well suitedas' a forming temperature and a pressure ofbetw'een 5 and'25 inches to. be wellsuitedin assisting'the removal of thesolvents and thereby l hastening the hardening of the cellulose material. `The hardening process progresses slowly as the liquid solution is spread-out and exposed to the vacuumizing action within ther mold. It may be said, therefore, that the container is built up and formed by flowing a liquid cellulose solution rst over the surface of the mo1d' and then repeatedly applying the coatings as a` continuous film to the inner surface of the container as the same is built upY and the Awalls thereof' thickened as the solution is hardened and unified with the previous layers. Y This mode of procedure is accomplished by placing preferably a predetermined quantity or charge ofthe liquid cellulose material sufiicient to form` the container, in a horizontally rotating hollowy mold and rotating said mold slowly While vacuumization is maintained therein. `The rotation of the mold and the vacuumizati'on therein is maintained until all the charge of the cellulose material has been`spread out and hardened in the shape of the container formed within the mo1d.` The rate at which the material is'spread out over the successive surfacesis maintained atv such a speed as will permit the removal of the'volaterial being spread out overthe adjacentsurface.

This spreading/is accomplishedby rotating the.y

mold at a rate knot to exceed the viscosity rof the material which will cause the/bulk., of 'the charge to remain on the lower side of the rotating mold until the same has been gradually moved out over the surface and spread by reason of the rotating mold and container formed thereon. In this manner successive coatings Aor rfilms 4of container material are deposited and built up into a unifiedr structure which, in the finished product, vforms the container. y n n f By actual observations I i'lnd that aV container `such as aniilk ybottle or tumbler can be formed in approximately three and one-'half hours. .Durfv ing, this time the container has been rotating slowly,A that is, ata ratel of about three times per... minute and vacuumization has been maintained on the inner side thereof. ".The vacuunriization`VY` thus maintained withdrawsthe volatile solvents v and hardens'the' cellulose comness confinemy description `to theuse of cellul- 1 lose acetate dissolved in a suitable solvent4 and;rv

thinned with ,a thinner if desirable. The cellu.-

lose acetate" solution suitable for formingcon-V "-'forming Amaterial deposited in the `mold sense.

principles. of my invention; Y

Vthe supporting rim and associated'parts at the `-unloading station and showing mechanism `for.

U the'shape of a tumbler;

,a ball ,valve for the. supply. pipe;

tainers'in the'manner above described should be of a consistency of maple syrup so as yto ow with considerable ease and still 4be deposited as a coating or layer on the inner surface of the mold and then on the successive layers of thev cellulose material. The following are specific ex' amplesof ingredients suitable for my purpose:

1. 20.00 pounds cellulose acetate 66.37 pounds acetone 8.62 :pounds `di'acetone alcohol 5.0 pounds balsam f f i :This solution is suitable for film 'coating under normal temperatures, that is, room temperatures i but may be used as a thinnersolutionimwhich case more acetone or more acetone andalcohol may be used. Y

In a suitable and thinner solution thefollowe ing proportions are used:

2. 8.00 pounds' cellulose'acetate i 79.25 poundsacetone" 10.75? pounds dia'cetone alcohol v2.00 pounds balsam It should be noted that 4.the :density of the, solution plays .an important partin the successfulpperation of the process. `In other words, if the density is too great so that `the liquid will not` flow with considerable freeness the danger of the ,formation of bubbles is- `-considerably greaterthan if the solution is thinner and'of a consistency as stated above. 1 I, therefore, do not recommend the `exact proportions of the materials Aabove mentioned` as conditions require the material to be so liquefied as to operateV to best results. This can be done by actual preliminary tests. It may ,be said, however, that the ranges lie Well within. the film solutionof Example 1 and V that of Example 2. lThese examples are given merely as a guide and not in. a limited .I..wi1l now describe one form of apparatus suitable for v'carrying out A:my invention.` .Referring to `the accompanying drawings (in 4ing material into themold;

Fig. 5 is a section of a mold shovvinglthejonf-v tainer inthe shapeofabottle builtuponthe walls thereof; i. J

Fig. 6 shows almold and container thereinin- Fig. 7 represents Tan air containing ydevice for charging air vwith glycerine tobeused incleanj ing'the, openmlolds;y Y

Fig. 8 VisV an enlargdsectional 'View' showing ,9is an enlarged viewin"[perspective.of'af` portion of the valvemembers for supplying the container forming ing; and

Eig; lois aplan` View. Qfrhenimldrive. J

means such as a spring 19.

g cellulose containerforxnng material;

V when in position c.

The same referencecharacters referv to likeV parts throughout the several views wherever they occur. i f The apparatus comprisesva frame A10 in whic is supported a journal 11 for rotatively suspending a spider 12 thereon. The spider 12 carries` the mold supporting rim or ring 13.- This ring carries a large number of molds 14 which are rotatively supported therein at 15 and are rotatedv i by means y of 4sprockets `16.- -engaging with Y driving means 174 such as` al chain or ithefsequivalent. The molds` are formed in two parts'which,'

for-convenience, may be called the upper section a and lower section b. Section b is pivotal- `ly-fmounted ouv-section a by a pivot' 18 and rthese parts lare vheld 4,in closed position by suitable lIf desired the inner surfacetof'the-@mold 4may be lined by suitable material, such as glass 20. A vacuumizing pipe 21 'extends'into the mold and `is shown within v the moldfasfbeing perforatedat 21';y

The outer portion of this-ppelisoonnectedby pipegmember 22 to lthemovable valve, member 2'2" which',` in turn, articulates Withthe stationary fvalvemember 23. Thestationary portion of,l the vvacuumizing valve 23 is supported onjournal 11. Extending intoV the inner` portion'ofthe mold isfthe supply krpipe 24 for delivering to the moldsthe This'pipe is provided Vwith a ballvalve 24 for preventing)r ,leakage of the liquid supply. This pipefextends` through thecenter portion of the vacuumizingY pipe as is shown in Fig. 1 3; The'supply pipe is' connected by means ofthe movable valvefmem'e ber 25 to the stationaryvvalve suppl-y member 26-which is likewise supportedon journal 11; 'A'Y charge of cellulose material,suircientforaycontainer isdelivered to themold throughpipe'24,*Iy valve member 26, pumpk supplypipe V27-.from` pump- 28. Thispump obtains ,its supply from a tankl29as illustratedbyfFig, 4, i The vacuurniza-r tion is maintained by 4Vany suitable means, such as a pump, not shown; throughthe-stationary valve member 23. ,The supporting. rim "131carrying molds 14 and feed ,andvacuumizin'gpipes24 andV 21 respectivelnareV rotated in unison by means of thehworm drive l30.A .Themolds are charged in succession as 1 they pass over the charge port 3,1 which f feeds `the supplyxpipes` 'I'he molds are, thereforeg each .chargedgat .this gpoint., As Athe .13yand molds :14 travel-,in fthedirectionofthe arrowfthe molds arezeach rotated slowlyas showninlig. 3. The container forming y.material is j thus `.spread out `vover. the-iinner 4surfacebf `the '.mold and 'isf gradually Vdistributed in the course-:of `its ltravel until the ientirecharge has `been used Vup'fandv v evenly distributed so as to formgthe containerfin theH manner` shown in Fig. 15,v the volatile constituentshaving been-withdrawn lby vreason `of ythe vacuumizingprocess being continued, throughout the.operationeither continuously orA intermittently. AIt-'is noted that forbest results the vvacuumization issuspended fora short period of time and during the-timeof travelthatlthe mold requires ytojpassA through the flrstgthree stages marked dbyXgonFig. 9. Ihis,A foithe reavson, thatbubbles'are likely .to.dev,elop; en the-V material. `when `it is` yfirst deposited 1on1 y.the inner f vacuu'mization actively effected 'whenever the,

ports of .pipes`22` register withvthe stationary, material and` for vacuumiz.-V

ports mLIfjlLdesired vthe yvacu'umization ports) tion. When the mold has. completed its orbit and reached the discharge station-at 32 it is opened and the container is discharged ,in any desired way and carried off by means, not shown, as a chute or the l e. Just prior to the opening the mold sprockets disengage from chain 17 and, therefore, the molds are retained stationary. At this point vopening pin 33 engages with cam surface 34 and maintains the mold in open position so as to discharge the container and be cleaned and lubricated by a blast of air containing a lubricating solution such as glycerine and the like. This is effected by any suitable means such as pipe 35. One means of charging the air with glycerine is shown in Fig. 7. Air is bubbled through bailies 36 which are submerged in the liquid in tank 37. A valve 38 may be supplied to regulate'the amount of cleaning iiuid used. As is best shown in Fig. 2 chain 17 is held apart from sprockets 16l of the molds when open by an idler 39. This idler and the tensioning rolls 40 are supported on stationary frame41. This frame is fastened to the base at 42. Frame 41 also supports the cam plate 34 by means of supports 43.

From the description just given it is apparent that my invention embraces a co-ntinuous operation of forming containers in a plurality of molds.

It is obvious that the apparatus may be speeded up and that the molds may be'increased to any desired number for mass production.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a mold in the form of a bottle wherein the container forming material has just been deposited and is represented by 48. This material is gradually spread out over the inner surface of the mold by the mold being rotated slowly and vacuumization being maintained in the mold. This rotation and vacuumization is continued until successive layers of the cellulose material, such as cellulose acetate have been completely distributed and unied with the previous layers. This operation when completed` produces the container in the shape of a bottle represented at 49 in Fig. 5. AIn Fig. 6 I have shown a former in the shape of a tumbler wherein the container forming material has been deposited similar to the manner just described'and is represented at 50. The repeated coatings spread over the surface and gradually hardened produce a uniformly dense wall of the cellulose material. The material thus formed I believe to be homogeneous throughout and is the result of the repeated coatings of the liquid material being formed over the previous coating which is gradually hardening 'during the process of forming the container. e

Various changesv will suggest themselves to those versed inthe art and what I, therefore, declare as newvand useful and desireto secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for making containers, a mold, means for rotating said mold` on its axis disposed horizontally, means for simultaneously moving said mold in a circular path, means for injecting a mass of container forming material containing a volatile solvent into said mold, and

means for withdrawing the volatile solvent as the same is freed from the solution and the container formed. e

2. In an apparatus for making containers, a

succession of molds, means forrotating 'said molds horizontally, means for kat the same time moving said molds inthe path of a circle, means for injecting a predetermined charge of liquid container forming material into each mold in succession, said container `forming material containing a volatile liquefying solvent anda thinning agent, means for withdrawing said solvent'l and thinning agent as and when the same are volatilized and the containers formed.

3. In an apparatus for making containers, a succession of molds, means for rotating said molds horizontally, means for at the same time moving said molds in the path of a circle, means for injecting a predetermined charge. ofv liquid v container forming material into each successive mold, means for creating suction within 4the molds for the removal of vaporized constituents of the container forming material and for solidifying the said container forming material, andA means for cleaning the molds before a new charge is injected therein. j

4. In an apparatus for making containers, a succession of molds, means for rotating said molds horizontally, means for at the same time moving said molds in the path of a circle, means for injecting a predetermined charge ofliquid container forming material into successive molds, means for creating suction within the molds` for the removal of vaporized constituents of the container forming material and for solidifying the said container forming material, and means for cleaning the molds vbefore a new charge is injected therein.

5. In an apparatus for making containers, a

succession of molds, means for rotating said molds horizontally, means for at the same time.

moving said molds in the path of a circle, means for injecting a predetermined charge vof liquid container forming material into successive molds, means for creating suction within the molds for the removal of vaporized constituents of the container forming material and for solidifying the plurality of hollow moulds rotatably journaled I on the carrier to revolve on a horizontal axis, a supply source of acontainer forming substance and. its solventpmeans jfor delivering a predetermined quantity of the substance into each mould at a predetermined point in the path of the carrier, means for withdrawing the `solvent from the mould and means for rotating the carrier y on its axis and the moulds on their axes whereby the substance is uniformly spread over the inhardened.

terior of the mould and f y GEORGE E. WEST. 

